Final childrens film opening sequence

Conventions of opening sequence

The conventions of opening sequence consist of many aspects such as;

Name ideas

We intend that our action themed children's opening sequence will be professional and intelligent, and it is therefore important for it's title to reflect this.

The name must:

Be appealing to children,
Reflect the narrative,
Provoke interest.

The name should ideally:

Be intelligent,
A 'take' on a well known saying - for easy accessibility and appeal,
Clearly, articulately worded,
'Punchy',
Be appealing to parents: Important as it will likely be the parents that select the films their children's watch.

Name ideas:

Lead Balloon -  Pros: Provokes interest, partencially reflective of narrative, well known saying, punchy.
                         Cons: Not necessarily appealing to children.

Hit the Ground Running - Pros: Provokes interest, conveys action, partencially reflective of narrative, well known saying.
                                      Cons: Possibly too 'wordy'?

Conventions of an Action themed Children's Film Opening Sequence

Throughout this post, we will be analyzing the conventions of an action themed children's film opening sequence - using 'Stormbreaker' as a primary example, specifically this clip:



It begins with a master shot of a school hall. This establishes a familiar space in which we,  the audience, would expect to see a character of Alex's age. After the original establishment, Alex proceeds to make a presentation about his family - specifically, his uncle. During his speech, the camera cuts away to the current whereabouts of his uncle, this displays the contrast of Alex's dull description of him, and the reality.

As the scene continues, intermittent cutting between Alex's presentation, and the chase sequence his uncle is currently involved in proceed.

By paralleling the two scenes, it creates a strong contrast between the dull, mundane scene of Alex at school, and the exciting chase sequence his uncle is in - thereby emphasizing the action his uncle is undergoing.

In our action themed children's film opening sequence, we intent to utilise this paralleling technique in order to enhance our action, and begin a secure structure in which to begin the film.

Mise-en-scene within Children's opening sequence

I will be discussing the mise-en-scene within our children's opening sequence by discussing the following areas;
Narrative
Costumes
Props
Location

Costumes; For one character ( school girl) they need to be wearing smart/school clothes. For one character, they will be wearing casual clothes as they will be running. The last character in our sequence will be wearing official clothes. Like a large overcoat and hat.
Narrative; The narrative for our opening sequence is as follows:
First frame, we see a whiteboard at a long shot view.
Second frame, we see a high angle shot of a girl in school clothes reading/writing at a desk.
Third frame, a man is running away from suspicion and a man in a long overcoat with looking official.
Fourth frame, a point of view shot over of the 'Official'.
Fifth frame, medium shot of the schoolgirl who is still engrossed in her studies. Though, she is looking very shifty.
Sixth frame, a point of view shot again of the 'Official' of the the guy in casual clothes running.
Seventh frame, side shot of the schoolgirl.
Eighth frame, another side shot of the school girl but closer, she is saying things under her breath in anxiety.
Nineth Frame, you see what the school girl has been looking at, writing.

Props;
Pen
Paper
Desk and chair
The costumes
Mobile phone

Location;
The location will be taking in two different places. One will be taken at a field near the edge of trees. The other will be in a classroom.

Information on Dream Works

Dream works.

An American studio which produces animation films. Some examples of their work would be Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar and over the edge.

Before these and other films that they have produced, they traditionally made animated films about subjects with a more serious matter. The studio has now gained a reputation for being focused on popular culture. Apart from this, their most significant success have been more universal themes in recent years. 

The studio was formed by the merger of the feature animation division of DreamWorks and Pacific Data Images (PDI). Originally formed under the banner of DreamWorks SKG, it was spun off into a separate public company in 2004. They are currently distributed only through Viacom's Paramount Pictures, who acquired the rest of DreamWorks SKG in February 2006, spinning it off again in 2008. DreamWorks Animation maintains two campuses: the original DreamWorks feature animation studio in Glendale, California and the PDI studio in Redwood City, California.

Opening of Children's Film - Mind Map, Risk Assessment, Video shoot shot list, and Story board

Risk assessment



Mind-Map



Video shoot shot list



Story Board pt. 1



Story Board pt. 2

What job titles we might use for our title sequence

Writer- The person/people who come up with the narrative, what props will be shown, the setting, mise-en-scene, but still leaving enough room for the director to intervine and put some of his own ideas in.

Director- Tells everyone working on the production of the filming where to stand what to do and tell them his ideas so that they can easily bring his ideas in front of the camera.

Camera man-The person/people who film all the action happening in front of the camera in order to produce clips to be edited in post-preduction to produce a film.

Actors-The people who are in front of the camera creating the action and contributing to the directors ideas.

Editor-The person who works in post-preduction to put all the filmed clips together, putting in special effects and adding the neccessary sound to the right clips.

Sound producer-Works with the editing section in order to produce the right type of music/sound to fit the clip e.g. happy sounding music for a happy moment in the film.

Different titles that may be found in a title sequence

Construction Coordinator
Construction Foreman
Construction Gangboss
Tool Person/Foreman
Scenic Foreperson
Paint Gangboss
Scenic Artist
Head/First Greens Person
Art Director
Set Decorator
Lead Person
Shopper Buyer
On-Set Dresser
Set Dresser
Art Department Coordinator
Props Master
Asst Props Master
Effects Foreman
Armorer with Certification
Gaffer
BB Electric
Rigging Gaffer
BB Rigging Electric
Key Grip
Best Boy Grip
Dolly Grip
Key Rigging Grip
Best Boy Rigging Grip
Boom Operator
Cable
Video Assist
Key Craft Service
Assistant Craft Service
Key Hair
Assistant Hair
Key Make-up
Assistant Make-up
Wardrobe Supervisor
Key Set Costumer
Key Costumer
Set Costumer
Costumer
Production Office Coordinator
Assistant Production Office Coordinator
Travel Coordinator
Production Secretary
Office PA
Head Production Accountant
First Assistant Accountant
Second Assistant Accountant
Payroll Accountant
Payroll Clerk
Accounting Clerk
Locations Manager
Assistant Locations Manager
Locations PA
Transportation Coordinator
Transportation Captain
Casting Director
Casting Associate
Casting Assistant
Extras Casting Director
Extras Casting Associate
Extras Casting Assistant
Set PA
Camera Operator
1st Assistant Camera
2nd Assistant Camera
Camera Loader
Second Unit Script Supervisor
Editor
Assistant Editor
Assistant Music Supervisor

Classification for our opening sequence.

We have decided that the film classification for our children's opening sequence should be rated a 'PG'. This is because some of the scenes during the sequence may frighten the more sensitive of children and parents may not be happy with this result.
During our sequence, there is no reference to drugs or alcohol at all and no weapons are shown. This is because during our opening sequence, the children may only see enough of it that makes the character look 'cool' in some way. There's no reason for our opening scene to show nudity or any sexual contact. Although there are action scenes which might fighten a child, the scenes aren't prolonged or intense.